When the Stars Align
by Reyes9
Summary: AU. Chuck is working for the CIA as an analyst in a remote location. But things have a way of happening anyway.
1. Prologue - The Cold North

**A/N: Hi everyone. After reading dozens of amazing stories here over the years, I'm inspired to write my own. I have no idea how long this is gonna be, I just hope I have the time to write it all. Just wanna mention that English is not my native language, so any mistakes are my own. Enjoy!**

 **Chapter 1**

 **The Cold North**

 **Saturday, 3rd March 2007 Nordstrand, Oslo, Norway 7.30 Central European Time (CET)**

"You cannot be serious?" Sarah was pacing around the adjoined hotel room she was sharing with her partner. "You can't expect me to stay here while you fly off to London. I'm coming with you."

Bryce sighed. "Sarah, please listen to me. I got this mission from Graham earlier and he said I was the only one to go there."

Sarah stopped at looked at him trying to read his face. "This is not how this works Bryce, we are partners. How can you be given a mission without me? I don't get it."

Bryce grabbed his backpack. "It's not technically a mission. I just have to retrieve something and bring it back to Washington. I have booked a ticket for you going to Svalbard island while I'm going to London. You deserve a few days off after our last mission. When I'm done I will meet you there before we fly back to US."

Sarah frowned and wondered what he was up to. "Why would we go to Svalbard island? The only thing there is more freezing temperatures and polar bears." She missed the warmer climates of missions in South America and such.

"Just trust me, we need to go there first. I will meet you there in a couple of days. Pack your bags mrs. Anderson!" Bryce smirked. "We talk soon." He got his gun ready and put it in the back of his pants, covering the gun with his jacket.

If there was one thing Sarah hated, it was a smirker. She gripped her knife and hurled it towards Bryce knowing he would be outside before it reached him. "Damn you Bryce Larkin." She huffed sitting down on her bed. Their relationship had gotten worse by each month after she ended their personal one about six months ago.

Sarah got her suitcase ready and packed her stuff before leaving for the airport. It would be a long flight and although she didn't mind flying, she preferred when it was a private one and not commercial.

She checked out of the hotel and got herself a cab who could take her to the airport.

The cabdriver made no attempt to talk to her during the drive which she was thankful for. She was not in the mood for any chitchat.

Once she arrived at the airport, she checked her watch and cursed when she realized it was only about an hour until her flight left. She quickly checked in her bag with her knives as she couldn't bring them on the plane. She had to change plane in Tromsø, which was all the way in the north. From there she would actually sit on the same plane going all the way to Longyearbyen, which is the biggest town of Svalbard.

After finally getting on the plane, which seemed to be delayed because some other passenger arguing over something, she finally settled in her seat and fell asleep soon after takeoff, knowing she could wake up in an instant if something happened.

 **Saturday, 3rd March 2007 Longyearbyen, Svalbard, Norway 13.30 Central European Time (CET)**

Chuck was just finishing his latest report and sent a quick e-mail to his boss back in DC. He was really happy about his job that thanks to his friend Bryce had led him to do something really good in the world. But he really missed his family back in LA. Especially his sister Ellie and his best friend Morgan. When he had told his sister he was going to work in a place that she hadn't even heard of, she had been really skeptical about it. He had told her he was the computer-expert for a company that was looking into oil and gas on the island. To this day she still couldn't understand why he would agree to go but was happy that he had moved on from Stanford and his old girlfriend Jill. He could feel that he was getting hungry.

Chuck got dressed in winter clothes and started walking towards one of the few cafè's in town, Rabalder Cafè & Bakery. He had gotten to know most of the local population, so he greeted several when he sat down in one of the chairs. A waitress soon came over to him.

"Hi Chuck. What can I get you today?"

"Hi Catherine, I would like my usual thank you." He gave her a smile which she returned.

The waitress wrote down his order and went back behind the counter, starting to prep his food. Soon she was by his side again, putting down his coffee which he absolutely needed during the day.

Chuck sipped his coffee thinking what he should do for dinner. He could invite the local couple he gotten to know in the area with him. They had been so friendly to him when he had arrived. He had stayed over in their house when there was a storm in the area and he couldn't go back to his own place.

Figuring he should text them later, he noticed his food has arrived. He thanked the waitress and looked down on his food. He had gotten one piece of bread with brown goat cheese, topped with jam and another with mackerel in tomato sauce. He thought it looked weird when he first saw it, but had come to love it. He guessed many people would find his lunch quite boring, but since this was Norway, this was traditional food here. He also tried several other Norwegian dishes, but this was his favorite.

 **Saturday, 3rd March 2007 Longyearbyen, Svalbard 13.40 CET**

Sarah had finally checked into the hotel Bryce had fixed. It was pretty nice, but nothing she hadn't experienced before wherever she traveled, but she had to admit it was a good place considering she was pretty much in the middle of nowhere.

After taking a shower, she felt refreshed but her stomach rumbled and she needed to get some food and decided to take a walk around the area and see what was available.

She didn't have the most of clothes with her suited for this weather, so when she saw a nice looking cafè just a short distance from her hotel, she went there.

She opened the door, welcoming the heat to her cheeks. She walked up to the counter, scanning for something to eat. She settled for a salad and a cup of coffee. She quickly paid in cash as she still had some left from being in Oslo. The waitress told her she would bring it to her table. She said thanks and turned around scanning the room. It was almost full, she guessed it was because of it being lunch-time.

Her eyes rested on a guy sitting alone in a pretty big table and walked over towards him.

Chuck had noticed the pretty blonde entering the cafè. He hadn't seen her before, so he thought she was new to the area. When she walked towards him he felt a little nervous but smiled anyway.

"Excuse me, is it okay if I sit down here?" The pretty blonde asked him. She sounded like a native English-speaker. Even though he knew how to speak Norwegian, he easily answered her in English as well.

"Oh of course. Please take a seat." He gestured to the cushions next to him.

"Thanks" _Okay, not a native as he speaks fluent English. Maybe American?_ Sarah thought to herself.

When he didn't say anything, she reached out her hand. "Hi. I'm Sarah."

Chuck took it, smiling at her. "Hi. I'm Chuck."

She looked at him, feeling herself getting lost in his brown eyes. She quickly straightened herself. Surprised by that name she couldn't help herself. "Chuck huh? Didn't know people still named their kids that." She teased him. _Why am I teasing him?_

Chuck smiled his megawatt-smile. "Well, my parents are sadists." He joked.

Sarah couldn't stop her laugh at that remark. "Sadists huh? That's funny."

"Well, I'm a funny guy."

"Clearly! Because I'm not funny." Sarah said feeling a little sad she wasn't funny, but that was not easy in the world of spy's.

Chuck took a good look at her when he spoke. "I'm sure you are more funny than you think."

Sarah wondered what this guy was doing here in the middle of nowhere. "So Chuck, what brings you to this island in the middle of nowhere?" She knew she was fishing for information about this guy. She blamed her spy-instincts.

Chuck didn't think too much about it. "Well Sarah, it's not that exciting to be honest, I'm a computer-expert."

Sarah raised her eyebrow at that. "You fix computers?" When he nodded, she continued speaking. "The locals need an outsider to fix their computers?" She found that hard to believe.

"I needed a change of scenery and when I saw the job offer here, I thought to myself: Why not. Experience a new country and a new culture. "

Sarah couldn't pinpoint what it was with this guy. "So you chose Svalbard, a cold place in the middle of nowhere to go fix computers?"

Chuck shrugged his shoulders. "It's only for a year and I do sometimes go to the mainland. I've been her for sometime now so I'm used to the cold and hard weather-conditions."

"I see." Sarah wondered what made him need a change of scenery, he seemed nice enough and not someone starting trouble.

She was about to ask him when the waitress appeared, putting down her food and drink.

"Everything okay with the food Chuck?" She smiled at him and Sarah knew instantly that this waitress had taken interest in him. If she was honest with herself she thought it was pretty handsome with a trimmed beard and lean build. She quickly shook her head. _Why would she think about him like that?_

"Yes thank you Christine. Everything is fine." He smiled back before setting his eyes back on Sarah.

"So Sarah. What are you doing in this place? I haven't seen you before."

"Actually I'm just passing by, I'm going back to America in a couple of days. My boss had a detour to make before getting here." _Sarah inwardly cringed and thought Bryce would have a field-day of her calling him boss._

"I see. Sounds fun traveling the world in business." Chuck said.

Sarah smiled. "While I like the traveling, I rarely get to see anything as I don't have the time to actually go somewhere. I usually go somewhere else before I have time to any exploring."

"That's a shame, one should always make time to see places. I have an idea." He said leaning closer to her.

Sarah was intrigued and wondered what he was thinking. "Oh? What's that?"

"Seeing as you are staying here a couple of days, how about I show you around the place?"

Sarah was surprised by that and wondered if he had a secret motive.

When she didn't answer, he thought she didn't want to. "I'm sorry, just thought I would help you with seeing the place since you apparently have a couple of days to spare."

Sarah looked at him. He looked genuine. "You know what? I accept." She gave him a flashing smile.

Chuck blinked. "You will?" When she nodded he smiled back at her.

 _Oh my gosh, that smile is amazing._ "Yes." She felt a flutter in her stomach at the thought of spending more time with him. Bryce had his mission, so it seems fair she had her own little mission as well.

"Great." Chuck replied. "How about I take you to dinner tonight? Then we can do some exploring tomorrow morning."

"Sounds great Chuck."

"How about we met at the restaurant _Huset,_ it's just down the road from here. Just look for the big white house with two double-doors. You can't miss it."

"Okay. I will meet you there. Is around six o'clock okay?" She asked him.

"That's fine. I will book us a table." He stood up and reached out his hand. "It was nice to meet you Sarah."

"Likewise." She shook his hand and felt a jolt of electricity rush through her. She blushed and quickly walked out of the cafè.

Chuck looked at the beautiful woman he just met walking away. She had just agreed to met him later for dinner. That was unexpected. She also wanted to take a little sightseeing-trip with him.

Chuck therefore quickly walked back to his apartment. He had to start planning for what they should do in the morning.

 **Radisson Blu Polar Hotel – Sometime later**

Sarah was looking at herself in the mirror, applying some light make-up. She had put on the one dress she still had in her suitcase. She had gone out earlier and shopped for some winter clothes to prepare for her trip with Chuck tomorrow. She didn't know what they would be doing, so she bought the best they had in the store.

Because of the cold, she had ordered a dog-sled to pick her up as she would not be able to go to the dinner wearing just a dress. She would put on a coat though.

Deeming herself ready, she put on her shoes and coat and waited for the sled to pick her up.

 **Bartowski Residence – Downtown Longyearbyen – 17.30 CET**

Chuck had spent the afternoon thinking about where he should bring Sarah to when sightseeing tomorrow. He had come up with a nice plan and was excited to tell her about it. He had to admit he was a little nervous. Sarah was extremely beautiful and he was still a little surprised she had accepted his offer of dinner and sightseeing. He checked his watch and thought it was time to go. He wanted to be there a little early so he was sure everything was okay when Sarah arrived.

After arriving at the restaurant, he talked to the waiter, mentioning his reservation and was led to a table for two. When he saw the lighted candle and dimmed light, a thought struck him. _What would Sarah think when she sees this? Maybe she would get the wrong impression._ He shook his head, it was just a dinner between two newly acquainted people. Nothing more, nothing less.

Sarah gave the description of the building to the guy leading the dog-sleigh. He knew where it was and after Sarah got inside the warm cover of the sleigh, he quickly got the dogs moving and only ten minutes later, she was in front of an old but nice looking building.

She thanked the man for the ride and quickly got inside to get warm again. She was pleasantly surprised by the nice looking restaurant. She looked around before spotting Chuck waving at her and she got the same fluttering in her belly seeing him dressed in a nice tux. She walked over to him and he leaned in and kissed her cheek which made her feel like it was on fire. How could a simple kiss on the cheek feel so nice?

Chuck got out her chair, being a perfect gentleman, before sitting down opposite her.

"I'm so glad you accepted my offer Sarah." He said smiling at her.

"Me too. This is really nice place. Seems like you picked a good one." She smiled back.

What happened next was something Sarah didn't expect. The waiter arrived with the menus, which at least had English translation on it. She looked at Chuck and right before he spoke to the waiter, his eyes fluttered rapidly and the words that came out of him sounded so real, like he was a native.

"Vi vil gjerne ha et glass av husets vin takk." Chuck said.

 _What the hell?_

 _ **A/N 2: Gonna end it there. This is like a prologue to the story, I'm expecting normal chapters to be longer though. So what do you think? Drop a review and let me know. Translation of what Chuck said: We would love a glass of the house wine please**_


	2. The Trip

**A/N: Wow, just wanna say thanks to everyone who reviewed the first chapter. So glad everyone liked it. My new beta NERDette777 helped me correct my mistakes. Enjoy.**

 **Saturday, March 3rd 2007, Huset – Downtown Longyearbyen 18.10 CET**

Sarah was looking at Chuck, trying hard to keep her face straight.

 _How did he manage to speak so perfectly Norwegian? He had only been here for a few months, not years. Either he is lying about how long he has stayed here or something else is going on._

When she noticed Chuck looking back at her, she smiled at him.

"So Chuck, tell me a little more about yourself?"

"Well, I'm originally from LA, Burbank to be exact. I have a sister, her name is Ellie. She lives with her boyfriend, captain Awesome… then you have..." Chuck was interrupted.

"Wait. You call your sisters boyfriend captain Awesome?" Sarah smiled and wondered how he got such a nickname.

"Oh yes, just wait until you meet him."

Sarah thought that would never happen, but let that pass for now.

"Everything he does is awesome, jumping out of airplanes, white-water rafting, flossing..." Chuck smiled at her.

That comment made her unable to hold back and she laughed.

"That's funny. You are really funny Chuck."

Chuck smiled back at her.

"So any past relationships? Girlfriends?" She was not sure why she was asking and was not sure she wanted to know.

Chuck remembered what his sister had said to him about that, so he tried make it seem like nothing.

"Yeah, there was someone back in college, but that is over now and her restraining-order was very specific."

Sarah saw his teasing smile knowing he was joking and had to laugh again. It seemed like she was doing that a lot with Chuck.

Chuck was happy that he had been able to make her laugh. She looked even more gorgeous when she smiled.

He was about to ask her something, but was interrupted by the voice coming from nearby.

"Hey Chuck" A woman's voice from behind made Sarah turn around. It was the waitress from the cafè earlier.

"Oh hi Catherine. How are things?" Chuck asked.

"I'm okay, me and my friends just getting some dinner. Why don't you join our table?" She asked hopefully.

Sarah was getting annoyed with this woman talking to Chuck like she wasn't even there. Thankfully Chuck spoke.

"I'm sorry, I'm already on a date with Sarah, so maybe a rain-check?"

Sarah looked at Chuck. A date? Is this what this is? Her mind started spinning thinking about possibilities of why Chuck said that.

She caught Catherine annoyingly looking at her before slipping on a smile and talking back to Chuck.

"Oh okay, sorry I bothered you. Maybe another time?" Catherine asked looking at Chuck.

Chuck hesitated, but didn't want to make a scene. "Sure Catherine. We will talk another time."

Happy that he wasn't rejecting her she smiled and said goodbye to both before going back to her friends.

Sarah couldn't resist teasing Chuck. "So… A date huh?" Her eyebrow slightly raised.

Chuck blushed. "Yeah, sorry about that. I've been trying to let her down gently, but she doesn't seem to take the hint. Sorry if it makes you uncomfortable that I said it was a date."

Sarah waved her hand before taking a sip from her wine. "Don't worry about it."

Chuck studied her face for a second, figuring she was okay with it. Chuck wanted to get to know Sarah more, so he decided to ask her some questions.

"So Sarah, why don't you tell me something about yourself." Chuck took a sip of his wine.

Thinking about a cover, she quickly thought up something. "Well, I'm 25 years old, born and raised in US, been working for the last 3 years after finishing school." Which was partially true.

Chuck raised his eyebrows, he had thought she was younger than 25. She looked younger at least.

"So what is that you actually do?"

"I'm an international travel agent, the company is US-based, but I get to travel a lot." Sarah replied.

Chuck beamed at that. "Wow, that must be nice, travelling the world as a living."

Sarah smiled. "Yeah it definitely has it perks, although I rarely have the time to do some actual exploring. Getting a few extra days here was unexpected."

Chuck reached out and grabbed her hand and started stroking it gently. "I'm glad you did so we could meet."

Sarah blushed but hid it well. "Me too." She really meant that.

They kept making small talk until the food arrived. They both ordered reindeer-stew with baked potato next to it, which was the special of the day.

"Wow, this looks really good and it smells heavenly." Sarah said.

"I agree, I've tried it before, just not from this restaurant." Chuck replied and Sarah nodded.

"You are very easy to talk to Chuck, I like that."

"Really?" Chuck was surprised by her statement.

"Yes, that's a good quality Chuck." She replied before taking a bite of her food.

"Wow, this is so good."

"I know right?"

Sarah scanned the room and when she noticed Chuck looked around the room, she raised her dress to make him keep his attention on her, but it backfired when his eyes ended up looking at her legs.

Feeling shy after she caught him staring at her legs, he suddenly found the wall very interesting and didn't notice her talking to him.

"I'm sorry, what were you saying?" Chuck asked.

Sarah repeated her question. "Do you come here often?"

"Sometimes, it's not that many restaurants here in Svalbard. But the food is really good."

"I agree, I like it a lot."

They contiuned chatting until they finished eating and Chuck asked for the check.

"The dinner is on me."

"Chuck, that's not really necessary. We can split it in half at least." Sarah replied feeling bad about him paying for everything.

"Nonsense, your pleasant company is more than worth it." He smiled putting down the cash for the dinner.

"That's really sweet of you." Sarah replied.

Chuck raised his eyebrow. "Sweet? What am I? Eight?" He teased.

Sarah laughed. "No Chuck. Considering you had two glasses of wine, you are most definitely not eight."

After putting down the money for the dinner, he stood up and offered his arm to Sarah, which she gladly accepted.

They walked outside, feeling the gust of cold wind hitting their faces.

Chuck got worried thinking it would be to cold for Sarah to walk home wearing only a dress, so he quickly pulled out his phone and called someone.

Sarah looked at him wondering what he was up to. "Who are you calling?"

"I'm calling a friend to pick us up and drop you off at your hotel. It's too cold for you to walk and there seems to be no dog-sleighs nearby." He went back to focus on his call.

Sarah thought Chuck was so considerate and kind. Bryce was never like that to her, except when they were on a mission. But there they were usually playing a character and not themselves, so it doesn't count. But Chuck found it natural.

"My friend will pick us up in a couple of minutes, are you okay with waiting outside or do you wanna wait inside?" Chuck asked.

Although she was getting cold, she was used to having rough missions and freezing was one of them, so she didn't mind. "No that's okay. So who's your friend?"

"Oh, it's a guy I met when I arrived here, he and his wife have invited me over for dinner several times and I stay there when there is a snowstorm here from time to time. I hope you are okay with him picking us up?"

"Sure, no problem. He seems like a good friend." Sarah smiled at Chuck.

A few minutes later, his friend arrived in an SUV, which was a good car for this area.

Chuck and Sarah quickly got in the backseat, and the guy turned around to greet them.

"Hi Chuck." Then he turned towards Sarah. "Hi. My name is Jan."

Sarah shook his hand. "Sarah. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too Sarah."

Jan turned around and started driving towards Sarah's hotel before speaking. "Seems like the wind is picking up. Might get more snow tomorrow."

With that information, Sarah turned to Chuck. "Will that make it be a problem for our trip tomorrow?"

Chuck shook his head. "Nah, unless it's a massive amount, it shouldn't be a problem for us."

Sarah nodded and kept quiet for the remainder of the drive.

 **Radisson Blu Polar Hotel, Svalbardgata 229-3, Longyearbyen, Svalbard 19.20 CET**

Jan stopped in front of the hotel. "We're here."

Sarah looked outside. The trip had went on with a blur as her mind was occupied with a certain guy sitting next to her. "I guess I will see you in the morning Chuck." She grabbed the handle and opened the door.

"I'll walk you in." Chuck blurted out and opened his side-door. "I can walk from her Jan." His friend nodded.

Chuck walked around and held out his arm for Sarah. She grabbed it and they walked silently towards the hotel. What they both didn't know was that they had exactly the same thought.

Sarah stopped in front of the hotel and turned around facing Chuck. Her cheeks were cold, but that was far from her mind right now. She looked down at Chuck's lips. When she looked back up she blushed as he had caught here looking at it. When Chuck's hand came up and stroked her cheek, she wanted more than anything that he would kiss her. She could justify something happening if he initiated it. So when she felt his lips on her cheek, she couldn't help but feel disappointed.

"Goodnight Sarah. I will see you in the morning." With that, Chuck left but called out. "Remember to be ready at 7. We leave early."

"I'll be ready." Sarah turned around and walked inside hearing a warm bath calling out for her.

Inside her room, she quickly stripped off her dress and undergarments.

She filled the bathtub with water and bath salt before waiting until it was full enough. After sitting down and feeling the warm water warming her up again, she thought back to her dinner with Chuck.

He was the perfect gentleman, nothing like the agents she had come across during her time at the agency or Bryce for that matter. They would always try getting her to sleep with them, but she had never done that except for Bryce, but they were in a relationship and had even gone on a vacation together. But that was the point where she figured out that other than sex and missions, there wasn't a lot of things they had in common. She never talked about herself or her past with him. As a spy she was protective of her past, but Chuck wasn't a spy, he was just a normal guy working in Svalbard of all places. She still couldn't understand why someone would take a job in this place as a computer-expert, but who was she to judge?

Sometime later the water started getting cold, so she quickly got up from the tub, putting on her robe and started prepping for bed.

Once she got under the covers and was ready to sleep, her phone rang and when she saw who it was, she quickly answered.

"Bryce? I was just about to sleep."

Bryce chuckled. "Wish I was there in bed with you then."

Sarah was tired of Bryce hinting of sleeping with her again. "That will never happen Bryce."

Bryce sighed. "Will you ever let it go Sarah?"

Sarah scowled. "Which part? The fact that you cheated on me or that I caught you in the middle of the act?"

"Come on Sarah, that was a mistake, it will never happen again."

"Doesn't change the fact that you did it and our personal relationship is over for good. Nothing will ever change that."

"Fine."

Sarah waited for Bryce to say something. "Was that all the reason you called?"

"No, I just wanted to tell you that I will get to Svalbard the day after tomorrow. If you can meet me at the airport, we can travel to a safe house in town."

Sarah was caught by surprise. "There is a safe house in Longyearbyen? Why didn't you tell me about that when I went here so I didn't have to stay in a hotel?"

"Because the safe house is a secret, nobody knows about it except for the person living there and director Graham. It's a need to know basis."

Sarah was so tired of Bryce saying that. Every time they were fighting, it was usually because Bryce didn't tell her something crucial about a mission or something else and Bryce always thought it didn't matter.

"Fine, what time do you land? I will meet you there." Sarah replied.

"Around three o'clock in the afternoon unless there are delays. See you then Mrs. Anderson."

Sarah swore she could even hear him smirking through the phone before she hung up.

She quickly put her phone away and was finally able to sleep.

In the morning, since it was very early, it was also very dark outside. This far north made it an evening in LA sounds like full-lit day.

She packed the stuff she bought last night plus some essentials like her gun and knives. She wondered where they are going. Chuck would be picking her up in fifteen minutes, so she did her final preparations and waited.

 **Sunday March 4** **th 2007, Bartowski residence, Longyearbyen, Svalbard 06.30 CET**

Chuck showered, packed his bag and went quickly to his computer and sent a quick message to Ellie, telling him he was fine and that he had to do some overnight work. He knew Ellie would worry for him if he didn't message her at least once a day. He packed some extra stuff as well since he didn't know if Sarah had all the stuff needed for the trip. After making sure he didn't forget anything, he walked outside carrying his backpack and walked over to the snowmobile he had rented of one of the locals. He also had an extra snowmobile-suit for Sarah to wear on top of her normal clothes.

 **Radisson Blu Polar Hotel, Svalbardgata 229-3, Longyearbyen, Svalbard 07.00 CET**

When she heard the knock on her door, she quickly wondered if she would feel the same sort of attraction towards him as yesterday. She opened the door and was surprised to see that Chuck was wearing a full overall and she suddenly wasn't sure if she had the right outfit on.

"Hi Chuck."

"Hey. I see you are ready to go, but we need to make one adjustment. I brought you this suit for you to wear while we travel as it will be very cold otherwise."

 _Well that made yesterday's shopping kinda pointless, although she had gotten some essentials_

"Oh, I wasn't sure if I needed something special, but give me the suit and I will be out in ten minutes top. Will you come inside and wait for me?"

"Sure. I will just wait for you. Everything is ready so all that is missing is you." He smiled which made Sarah smile back.

"Okay good, I'll be out shortly."

After getting her suit on, she grabbed her stuff and they walked side by side outside and she let Chuck lead the way as she didn't know what they were doing yet.

Around the corner, Chuck walked towards a big snowmobile which also had a small trailer connected on the back. Apparently he brought a lot of stuff for this trip.

"Wow this looks great Chuck. But isn't that a lot of equipment for just a short trip?" As she didn't know much about traveling on Svalbard, she had to ask him.

Chuck turned towards her after putting their stuff in the trailer. "No because traveling around Svalbard can be quite dangerous if you don't know what you are doing. I have taken guided trips before and familiarized myself with the area and we are not going that far anyway. But also because it seems Jan was correct with it being windy and snowy, but that's Svalbard to you." He flashed her a brief smile.

Another thing Sarah noticed was the 4 dogs also secured in the back. She wondered why they were bringing them and asked Chuck.

"It's a rule here that you have to bring dogs with you if you are traveling by yourself and I also had to contact the Governor here in Svalbard that we are going outside the management area 10."

Sarah wondered why. "Is it really that dangerous?"

"It can be if you don't know what you are doing. Don't worry, I have taken several guided trips out there so I know where we are going, we won't get lost. Trust me, I'm kinda a nerd like that."

Sarah didn't know what it was but she did trust him. "I do trust you Chuck."

"That means a lot to me Sarah. Now let's get moving." He got out the key to the snowmobile and turned it on and soon they were on their way out if the city.

Chuck was driving and Sarah was holding on to him. She didn't mind being this close to the man who had been so intriguing to her. An American on Svalbard, who she had both lunch and dinner with last night and was now taking her on a snowmobile trip into an area she didn't know anything about. Part of her was terrified of not having the control, but the woman and adventurer in her was happy about going on this trip. She let a sigh escape her lips and briefly wondered if he had heard her, but he kept driving towards somewhere.

After what felt like forever, they finally came to a stop and she wondered why they stopped, but when her eyes finally focused, she saw Chuck pointing at something. When she turned her head she gasped as she saw something she had never seen before. A reindeer. An actual reindeer walking across the valley.

"Wow Chuck. What an amazing animal that is." She brought out her phone and quickly snapped a picture of it.

"I know right?" They continued watching until it disappeared over the hill.

Chuck started the engine again after he told her that it was only another twenty minutes drive before they were there.

Sarah continued enjoying the view while holding onto Chuck. It was snow everywhere and the lake was frozen to ice. It was cold enough that you could easily walk on it without going through.

They were going through a small valley and when they got out of it, Sarah was amazed how such a nice place could exist.

They were staring out towards the arctic ocean. On one side there was a mountain full of snow but close by Sarah could see some old building. Chuck seemed to pick up on what Sarah was looking at and explained. "There used to be a Russian coalmine here back in the 40's. Even though Norway owns Svalbard, there also lives some Russians and Polish people here as well."

"You are just a fountain of information aren't you?" Sarah asked looking at him,

Chuck shrugged his shoulders. "Knowing the facts make life interesting."

They walked around the area a little while and Chuck pointed of stuff of interest. After a while Chuck told her they should eat something. He had brought several dishes of food and something for the dogs as well.

He grabbed his backpack and got out some stuff Sarah didn't know what was. She watched him walk around the area, putting up some tripwires. When he got back, she gave him a curious look.

"It's better to be safe than sorry. Since we are going to cook some food, it can attract polar bears if they smell the food and they usually get curious, especially if they are very hungry."

Sarah's eyes widened. "Uhm Chuck, are you sure that's a good idea then?" She had taking town terrorists and quelled a revolution with a fork, but she had never come eye to eye with a polar bear.

Chuck looked at her and smiled. "Yes, I have taken an extensive course to know what do to in every situation in this area. The tripwires are put up to scare the polar bears away if they cross it. It will cause a flash of light to go off with a bang, which will surely scare them off because polar bears are actually very scared of people, but if they haven't gotten any food for a while, they tend to get curious when they smell something that can be eaten. That's also why we have the dogs. They are trained to notice if the polar bear gets to close and will scare of the polar bear if that happens."

Sarah just listened to what Chuck was saying. He really had made his preparations. "Really? Small dogs will scare of a big polar bear?" She kinda found that hard to believe.

"Yes, polar bears are actually very shy and don't like confrontations. They rarely get aggressive. Then it's usually because they are protecting their kids or they are desperate for food."

"I have to take your word for it." Sarah replied. She looked at Chuck preparing the food. "What's that?"

"This is actually reindeer-stew. It has of course reindeer, but you put into stuff like onion, potatoes, carrots, mushroom and garlic. I also like this brown cheese on top of it."

"Brown cheese? Never tried that before. What makes it brown?" She asked.

"It's actually from goat, made of the whey in their milk opposed to white goat-cheeses that is made of the cheese-mass in the milk. This way it has a caramelized flavor which makes it really good to have on for example bread or stews like this one. Other stuff you can use it for are on waffles or pancakes."

Chuck cut of a piece for her to taste. "What do you think?"

"This is really good Chuck. Never tried anything like it before. I'm really hungry, so how about start making that stew." Shes stood up and gathered some wood that Chuck had taken with him.

Chuck was mixing the ingredients while stirring everything together. Sarah was watching him. He seemed perfectly in control of what he was doing.

Seeing him sitting in front of the fire, his hair making funny animal shapes, she briefly wondered how it would feel like running her hands through it. His lips looked so soft and inviting. She quickly scolded herself. _Careful agent Walker. Now is not a good time falling for a guy you just met. But then again, she had never met anyone quite like Chuck._

She decided that she would just the short time they would have together, but that if Chuck initiated something, she wouldn't turn him down.

Chuck was watching Sarah as she looked out towards the ocean. He wondered how he had managed to get such a beautiful woman like Sarah to join him on this trip. She was easily the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. He didn't know what would happen once they got back though. He knew she would go back to the States, but would she be willing to keep in touch? Maybe it was wishful thinking, but he didn't want to start something that couldn't last either. He was now conflicted between his romantic side and his realistic side. But for now, he would just enjoy being in her company.

A short while later, the food was ready and Chuck handed her a cardboard-plate, spoon and a fork. He used a ladle to pour the stew over the plates. After doing so, he grabbed the pack of goat cheese and put a couple of slices on top of the stew. It melted on top of it, making almost a cover of it.

They started eating and Sarah was so hungry and the warm food also helped with the cold. She saw Chuck pouring something into cardboard-cups. "What's that?" She asked.

"This is hot cocoa. I figured that we would need something hot to drink in this cold."

"Good thinking." She got her cup from Chuck and started sipping in, feeling the warm liquid going down her throat.

"Feeling better?" Chuck asked.

She smiled. "Yes, it feels much better now." It was already getting late and she wondered if they had to go back soon. At the same time, a cold wind came to her face and she shuddered.

Chuck was done eating and cleaned up everything and fed the dogs. He then walked the area a bit looking around. Sarah wondered what he was doing and asked him when he returned.

"It seems the wind is picking up and it will start snowing very soon. I was hoping to avoid that, but it's getting here quickly." Chuck was feeling a litlte annoyed.

"Okay, so what do we do then?" Sarah asked.

"We have no choice but to set up camp now and sleep here tonight." Chuck replied.

Sarah's eyebrows raised. _Sleep here? In the middle of nowhere?_

"How are we gonna survive out in this cold? I don't have that much stuff with me." She was slightly panicking as she had never been in a situation like this before.

"Don't worry, I packed everything we need just in case. I've got a big tent with reindeer-skin to sleep on so the ground will not be cold. I have packed a couple of sleeping bags for us as it will help to keep warm." Chuck explained.

"Wow, you really thought this through." Sarah was impressed.

"Thanks, why don't you help me set it up?"

Sarah did what she could and soon enough, everything was ready. Chuck was tying up the dogs outside so they could sleep there while everything else they needed was put in the tent.

A while later, it was already really dark outside. They crawled inside the tent and Chuck put on a flashlight. They continued chatting for a little while before they got sleepy.

Sarah was happy about taking the trip, the more she got to know Chuck, the more she liked him. Although she could do without the cold. She kept looking at Chuck and when she saw him frowning, she blushed and looked away, embarrassed he had caught her staring.

Outside, the wind was howling around the tent, making it sway a little. Eventually she succumbed to sleep.

A few hours later they both woke up as they heard the dogs barking. They turned towards each other and quickly got out of their sleeping bags. Chuck went outside first, checking the perimeter.

Sarah followed, annoyed she hadn't thought about bringing her gun on this trip.

They looked around, looking in the direction the dogs were barking and they could see a figure creeping closer in the darkness. Sarah was getting riled up as she didn't quite know what to do now. She watched Chuck walking towards the dog sleigh where he got out a rifle, a .308W with 7,62mm bullets. He quickly put in the bullet and held the rifle ready in case the polar bear got closer.

As they watched the polar bear, the dogs kept barking. Chuck was standing close to them, ready to unleash them. But as the polar bear got closer, it also touched the trip wire Chuck had put up, making a sound which scared the polar bear, making it run away. Sarah breathed a sigh of relief.

They were safe. Chuck put down the rifle and grabbed her hand.

"Are you okay Sarah? I know that this was pretty scary, but I would never let it harm you." He said and she looked into his eyes, clear as day even if it was middle of the night, feeling her heart skip a beat.

She couldn't bring herself to reply so she just nodded. Chuck squeezed her hand and they got back to the tent and he fell asleep pretty quickly. Sarah however, was lying in the tent thinking about what just happened. Chuck had stayed completely calm while they were about to get attacked. She wondered how that had happened for him. She looked at him sleeping next to her. How could such a nice guy be so full of mystery?

 **Morning after**

Chuck woke up first and he looked at the sleeping angel next to him. He wondered how he could ever walk away from her when they are back in Longyearbyen.

With a sigh, he got up and started prepping breakfast. After setting up a fire, he gathered the stuff needed for breakfast. He had milk, water, oatmeal, cinnamon, salt and sugar. First he put the milk, water and oatmeal into the boiler, making it heat up together for a few minutes. Then he put it away from the fire, making it simmer for a little. He then threw a little salt in in and stirred it around a bit more. When he was certain everything was okay, he gave the dogs their food before getting inside the tent again to wake up Sarah.

He got inside then almost gasped and turned around quickly getting out of the tent again. She hadn't seen him, but he saw her topless from behind, seeing her bare back. That was all it took at Chuck was glad it was cold outside because that was the closest thing he had to a cold shower right now.

What Chuck didn't know was that Sarah knew he had seen her. She had felt a little shy letting him see her like that, but decided it was no big deal. She would just pretend like nothing. She quickly got on all of her clothes before getting outside. There she saw Chuck stirring the food with real intensity.

"Morning Chuck."

He turned around and stuttered. "Oh.. Hi… Morning Sarah."

She smiled. Clearly she had an effect on him. It was good to know that it wasn't just her feeling things between them.

"Morning Chuck. What's for breakfast?"

"We have a traditional Norwegian breakfast, at least for some. It's warm oatmeal with a little sugar and cinnamon on it, then a little milk around it as well. It's really good." He handed her a plate with it.

Sarah shrugged. "Well, you have yet to disappoint me so far with the food, so can't hurt." She started eating and it felt good getting some warm food. Although the milk wasn't that warm since it was actually cold from the start.

Chuck looked at her. "So how did you sleep? I know it got a little interrupted during the night and all..."

Sarah smiled. "You can say that again. I slept great Chuck. Even with the wake-up."

Chuck finished his food and started gathering his stuff together before speaking. "I'm sorry to cut this short, but I do have to work a bit later today, so I can't really spend the whole day out here."

"That's okay Chuck. It's been a great trip and I don't have any regrets." Sarah said honestly.

"I'm glad you approve." He continued packing his things and soon after he put out the fire, they were on their way back.

Sarah continued enjoying the view on their way back. She saw another reindeer as well. This was the best trip she had been on her whole life, including the trip to Cabo with Bryce. That wasn't even a good vacation, it was actually the beginning of their downfall. After spending a couple of days there, they both realized they had nothing to talk about besides missions. They had a lot of sex, but even that wasn't that much. After that trip they had starting fighting more and more and it ended with Bryce cheating on her. They tried keeping their relationship professional after but it wasn't the same anymore with Bryce constantly not telling her everything. Before she hadn't really noticed that detail much, but after she questioned everything and they fought about it. Maybe it was time to join Carina on missions for a while? It certainly got interesting when they did. She would figure it out when they got back to the States. Right now she enjoyed her final time with Chuck and listened when he pointed out more locations on their way back.

It took a few hours, but soon they were back in Longyearbyen. Chuck stopped the dogs in front of her hotel. He had dreaded this moment the whole morning as he didn't know how to say goodbye to Sarah. As she helped him with her stuff inside, he was of course the perfect gentleman walking her all the way to her room.

"So here we are." Chuck started not knowing how to really start this conversation.

"Yes. I had such a good time Chuck. I can't thank you enough for this. It was the best trip I've ever been on. Even it was short."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it so much. It was really something and you got to both see new things and eat new things as well." Chuck have her a flashing smile.

"Yes, I will never forget it. Thank you so much." Sarah replied.

"You are welcome." Chuck hesitated before finally getting the courage. "I was wondering if you wanted to exchange phone-number and/or e-mail?"

Sarah hesitated. "I don't know Chuck. In my line of work I don't get a lot of free time." It wasn't that she didn't want to exchange e-mail, but she doubted she would ever get the chance to see him again.

Chuck nodded. "I understand. It was just a thought."

Sarah couldn't bear him being so sad. "You know what? Why don't you give me your e-mail and if I ever get the time, I will contact you?"

Chuck beamed. "Really? That's great." He quickly got out his business-card.

Sarah grabbed it and looked at him and chuckled. "nerdherder80 huh? That's an interesting one."

Chuck smiled. "Yeah, In my summer break from college I used to work at a local Buy More at the nerd herd-section and it kinda stuck to me."

Sarah nodded. "Well thank you Chuck. It was a pleasure meeting you." She reached out her hand.

Chuck took it right away. He held on to her hand longer than normal. Their gaze met. But Sarah snapped out if it and let go and opened her door and got inside. "Goodbye Chuck." She said.

"Goodbye Sarah." He watched her close the door and sighed. He started walking outside, getting the dogs to deliver it back to the owner. Once he had done that, he started walking back to his apartment. While he was walking, he thought back to the wonderful days he had spent with Sarah. From meeting her at the cafe to their dinner and their overnight-trip. It would always stay with him. Once he got inside his apartment, he plopped down on his desk-chair. He quickly checked his e-mail before taking a quick shower. When he got back, his phone started to ring. Looking at it, seeing the familiar number, he clicked the answer-button.

"Hey dad."

 **A/N: That's it for this chapter. Let me know what you think. Reviews are always nice and helpful.**


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